Healing and
evangelism
This article was first published in Church Leadership, Summer 2003, by CPAS.
In one of the most ancient biblical texts, God describes himself as ‘the
Lord who heals you’ (Exodus
15:26 ). The Rev Dr Alison Morgan has
experience of the ministries of healing and of evangelism. She shares her
thoughts with
Church Leadership
on
this rarely-discussed connection.
A changing climate
The spiritual climate of this country is changing. We are moving away from the familiar certainties of what has been termed the ‘modern’ worldview to the more unsettled outlook of what we are coming to refer to as ‘postmodernism’. Postmodernism has many features, but one of the most significant is a willingness to look beyond the confines of the rational and visible into the realms of the emotional and supernatural. Increasingly people are becoming aware that there is a spiritual dimension to life. This means that Christians have a greater opportunity to ‘scratch where it itches’ than perhaps at any other time within living memory.
Moving with the times
In
many churches, mention of the words ‘healing’ and ‘evangelism’ produces nods of
good will accompanied by a certain amount of anxiety. Years of living in a
scientific and materialistic culture have undermined our confidence: we have
grown used to the idea that those within the church expect to find healing
through medical means alone, and that those outside it have no interest in the
gospel. And yet in the early church physical healing was a common means by
which those who had not heard the gospel first received it. In our own times,
the emerging church in Nepal has been built almost entirely on a foundation of
answered prayer for healing; and here at home, people in our postmodern culture
are looking increasingly not for something which offers intellectual coherency,
but for something which ‘works’ – for a faith which is rooted in experience, a
faith which touches and heals their pain.
Bearing this in mind, in the year 2000 the Church of England published a report entitled A Time to Heal. Its purpose was to encourage the churches to recover a ministry of healing which will be visionary, prophetic and dynamic. To borrow biblical terminology, perhaps we have a new opportunity to ride the tides of change: to recover that which we have lost, to return to our first love and do again the things which we did before (Revelation 2:2-5). These are exciting times.
Identifying assumptions : two
ministries or one?
Most
people in the church would tend to regard healing and evangelism as two
separate activities, conducted by different people with different gifts and
experience, and offered to different target audiences. Whilst fitting in with the specialist outlook
of our culture, this is not necessarily the best approach. In both Hebrew and
English, the word ‘healing’ is related to the word ‘whole’. In Greek, the word sozo
means both to save and to heal.
God identified himself to us from the beginning as a God who heals (Exodus 15.26). The healing he offers is a comprehensive one which eventually will touch spirit, soul and body (1 Thessalonians 5.23). To know God is to receive life, abundant life, spiritual life which may, even in this world of death, prove itself in the healing of both emotional and physical pain (John 10.37-38). That is a message which is of profound interest to the many people both inside and outside the church who are looking for a faith that works. Healing is both metaphor and reality, and it is not intended as an ‘in-house perk’ for Christians – it is a fundamental expression of the gospel itself.
Back to the drawing board
If
healing and evangelism are to be regarded together as ways of offering the
wholeness which God wishes to bring us, what implications does that carry for
our own practice?
Some
possible questions for group discussion might be:
1. The starting line: what is the gospel?
We all know that the word ‘gospel’ means good news: good news, ordinary news, the kind of news you read in newspapers. It is a translation of the Greek word evangelion, which means good news, message, announcement. It wasn’t a religious word to start with. It just meant, something new. We have news to tell, an announcement to make. The thing is, do we know what it is? Can we express it in words that make sense?
2. So what is the announcement?
This
is how Jesus put it: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has
anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release
to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go
free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ (Luke 4.18-19) The
announcement, therefore, is both spoken and enacted.
3. Are we supposed to do all that too?
Jesus
promised we would do the works he did (John
4. Why aren’t people always healed when we pray for them?
Our
primary healing is from sin (1 Peter
5. Three forms of healing
Paul
prays for wholeness of spirit, soul (psyche) and body (1 Thessalonians
spiritual healing (forgiveness
for sin, reconciliation with God, deliverance from evil)
inner healing (from guilt,
anger, anxiety; see also Ephesians
physical healing (as a sign,
John 9:1-7; out of compassion, John 11:38-44; as a result of deliverance, Luke
These are the three forms of healing which we may expect to minister today.
6. Who should be involved in healing and evangelism?
How
do we feel about the task of offering the gospel to those who have not heard
it? Do we think this is a ministry for specialists or is it something everyone
should be involved in? What practical steps can we take to get going?
Healing is a form of prayer to
be offered by church leaders (James
Healing is a spiritual gift to
be used in ministry by those who have received it (1 Corinthians 12:7,9)
God appoints evangelists and
gives them to the church. (Research shows that 10% of church members have a
special motivation towards evangelism – Ephesians 4.11)
We must all be ready to share
our faith whatever the cost (1 Peter
Biography
The
Rev Dr Alison Morgan is on the staff of Holy Trinity, Leicester, and an
Associate of ReSource. She has taken part in several ministry trips
to
Alison Morgan
home page